Scientific communities, including medical, have conducted many studies on the effectiveness of magnet therapy, and numerous publications on this subject have been widely publicized. Magnetic fields have been used for many therapeutic treatments, including relief of pain and inflammation associated with soft tissue and musculoskeletal injuries, relief of pain from osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, relief of pain associated with postpolio syndrome, relief of headache pain, relief of pain from tendonitis, relaxation of muscles from exertion or tension, and more. In application, therapeutic magnetic sheets or pads have been designed and created with stationary alternating magnetic polarity patterns that are believed to increase blood flow and therefore, accelerate the healing of injured body parts when they are placed on or near them.
Over the years, magnetic patterns have improved, enhancing their effectiveness. Various rectangular, concentric circular, checkerboard, wave, triangular, and spiral patterns have been contemplated and are being used. Therapeutic magnetic application relies on the principles of electricity and magnetism, where the charged particles moving perpendicularly through a magnetic field experience force. Human blood carries charged particles, since it is filled with iron, ions, and electrolytes. Therefore, a blood vessel exposed to a proper alignment of alternating magnetic fields can experience sufficient force to create sufficient heat to cause a widening of the blood vessel and thus an increase in blood flow. It is also believed that extra movement of polar particles in the blood moving to align themselves to the alternating magnetic polar fields can sufficiently mix the blood to allow components of the blood to have an easier time recognizing foreign matter.
In this respect, U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,711 to Latzke; U.S. Pat. No. 4,549,532 to Baermann; U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,111 to Mitsuno et al.; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,277,692, 5,538,495, and 5,514,072 to Ardizzone; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,589 to Brooks disclose some examples involving different patterns of alternating polarity on stationary pads or sheets. The disclosures of these patents are incorporated herein by reference. The sheets are typically made of magnetized material with magnetic poles arranged in an alternating pattern of north (xe2x88x92) and south (+) poles or polarity zones. When placed over or on an afflicted area or an area to be treated, these polarity zones have been shown to have a therapeutic effect. For example, the pad can be applied to bruises, sore muscles, and joint pain for relief to the user from such pain. The magnetic therapy can have varying degrees of effectiveness depending on the random paths of the blood vessels that pass beneath the device and how effectively the magnetic pattern exposes these blood vessels to their alternating magnetic poles.
Also known and used in the field of magnetic therapy are devices that utilize a dynamic or oscillating field of alternating magnetic polarity, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,857 to Horl; U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,720 to Kleitz; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,817,000 and 6,001,055 to Souder. These devices use electromagnetic generators to generate an oscillating electromagnetic field, or permanent magnetic pieces that, when moved, cause their magnetic fields to move, exposing the proximate area to a dynamic magnetic field. It is believed that this exposure can move electrons on a cellular level, affecting cellular functions of nerves, muscles, and other tissues, resulting in increased blood flow, the relaxation of muscle, and connective tissue, and the blocking of pain impulses.
Specifically, Horl discloses a therapeutic magnetic device that produces pulsating magnetic fields using a rotating, motor-driven substrate that has magnets mounted thereon. Kleitz discloses a motorized revolving wand with spaced and aligned magnetic units. This provides a dynamic, constantly alternating polarity field. Souder (""000 patent) discloses some of the benefits to using a dynamic or oscillating magnetic field. Souder uses a permanent magnet or electromagnet that is freely moveable or suspended inside a frame for horizontal and/or vertical movement, and relies on the magnet to be moved by inertia. The magnet is mounted to a pivoting arm inside the frame to allow for inertial movement. Souter thus discloses using inertial or other mechanical energy inputs to move the magnet relative to the frame and the user. The frame is affixed to the user or the user""s clothing or can be positioned within a moving object near the user, such as a seat, a fan, a steering wheel, or other. This type of arrangement, however, requires extra space inside the housing to provide an area for the magnet to move to, creating wasted space. This not only lowers the amount of effective coverage that the device offers, but would also make the device more conspicuous. Also, the movement may not be very uniform, which could impact the consistency of results when using such a device. Souder (""055 patent) uses electric, pneumatic, spring, hydraulic, or other motors to move the permanent magnet. The magnets can be eccentrically mounted so that when they are driven by such a motor, they vibrate, creating a concurrent vibratory massaging effect.
It is believed that a dynamic magnetic field can be more effective than a static field, depending on the area of concern, the type of application, and the individual involved. Known therapeutic dynamic magnetic field devices, however, use motors to move their magnets, which are usually powered by electricity, i.e., AC current or batteries. It is inconvenient to have to look for an outlet to plug the device in wherever the user may need to travel. In many places, there is no access to an electrical outlet. Even if the user finds some outlet, the cord limits the user""s mobility. All this diminishes the effectiveness of the device, since it cuts down on the likelihood that it will be used as needed. As for battery-powered devices, they are a lot more portable, but the motor and the battery take up a lot of space and can be heavy. To attach such a device with a motor and a battery to a human body is inconvenient, since it is cumbersome and conspicuous. Also, batteries will always need to be replaced or recharged. These devices can be more convenient in wand form, but to be effective, these wands have to be held by the user""s hand near the body, making it difficult for the user to perform other tasks, or to move around while using the device. Again, they are conspicuous. Another consideration is that motor driven devices have motors that can malfunction or generate noise.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,159 to Anzai, et al. uses hand-powered rotating magnetic balls to roll and massage. These magnetic balls create an alternating magnetic field when they are rolled on the body or spun by hand. The drawback to this type of device is that it is manual, which is not convenient to user.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a therapeutic magnetic device that is secured to the user and provides the benefits of a magnetic pad with alternating poles when stationary, and provides the benefits of a dynamic alternating magnetic field when the user moves, without using a motor or manually generating the field. The present invention addresses this need.
The present invention relates to a dynamic magnetic device and a method thereof, and components thereof, namely a magnetic pad or disc and a housing thereof.
One aspect of the present invention is a dynamic magnetic device, which can include a magnetic disc and a housing. The magnetic disc has an alternating magnetic pole pattern. The housing can be configured to permanently or replaceably encase and hold the magnetic disc for rotation. The magnetic disc is configured and mounted to the housing so that the magnetic disc rotates or oscillates relative to the housing upon imparting motion to the housing to generate a dynamic or oscillating magnetic field.
The magnetic disc can be mounted to the housing with a weight imbalance, so that gravity can cause the magnetic disc to rotate. In this respect, the magnetic disc can be rotatably mounted to the housing so that the magnetic disc has an axis of rotation offset from a center of the magnetic disc. Alternatively, the mass of the magnetic disc can be unevenly distributed to create the weight imbalance, which can be made by making one area remote from a center of the magnetic disc have more mass. Alternatively, or in combination with the above, the magnetic disc can have one or more openings along one area or specific areas thereof, away from a center of the magnetic disc, to create the weight imbalance. Alternatively, or in combination with any of the above configurations, the magnetic disc can be made non-circular.
The magnetic disc can be rotatably mounted to the housing using a rotating mechanism. In one embodiment, the rotating mechanism can include an axle mounted to the housing. The magnetic disc can have an opening through which the axle extends either fully or partially, and allow the magnetic disc to rotate around the axle. In another embodiment, the axle can be rotatably journaled to the housing. Moreover, in either embodiment, the rotating mechanism can further includes at least one ball bearing assembly journaled between the axle and the magnetic disc. Adding bearing assembly can allow the magnetic disc to also rotate relative to the axle, which is also rotatably journaled to the housing. In yet another embodiment, the axle can extend from one side of the housing and journaled for rotation to the magnetic disc, which can have a through opening, a partial opening, or no opening. In this respect, a bearing assembly can be mounted to the magnetic disc, and the axle journaled to the bearing assembly.
The magnetic device can include means for rotatably mounting the magnetic device to the housing, which can encompass all of the disclosed features an all equivalents thereof.
Another aspect of the present invention is a dynamic magnetic device having the magnetic disc and housing configuration previously mentioned, and means for mounting the magnetic disc to the housing so that the magnetic disc rotates or oscillates relative to the housing upon imparting motion to the housing to generate a dynamic or oscillating magnetic field. The mounting means can encompass all of the features disclosed in this application and all equivalents thereof.
Another aspect of the present invention is a magnetic device, which can be used with the present dynamic magnetic device. The present magnetic disc has an alternating magnetic pole pattern, a dominant N pole formed at one side of the disc, and a dominant S pole formed at a diametrically opposing side of the dominant N pole. This configuration can be used with the present dynamic magnetic device to create additional movement when the disc is laid horizontally using the earth""s magnetic field, or other magnetic field.
Another aspect of the present invention is a housing for replaceably and rotatably holding the magnetic disc. The housing can be configured as a sleeve, jacket, or casing into which any conventional magnetic disc with alternating magnetic pattern can be inserted and rotatably held in place. The magnetic disc can be rotatably held relative to the housing by pressure, clamping action, or friction, or use one or more features of the rotating mechanism previously mentioned. For instance, the magnetic disk can be inserted into a clam-shell type of casing, where the magnetic disc can be inserted and closed, or forced into a slotted sleeve. Opposing plates or members can be rotatably mounted to the casing or sleeve. The opposing plates or members can be biased toward each other to frictionally engage and maintain the magnetic disc in place relative to the opposing plates or members. Such a configuration allows the end user to insert and remove the magnetic disc. This gives the user the ability to use or experiment with different types of magnetic discs, i.e., ones with different magnetic patterns and field strengths.
In this respect, the housing can have first and second walls for covering the magnetic disc. The first and second walls can be configured to rotatably maintain the magnetic disc between the first and second walls so that the magnetic disc can rotate or oscillate relative to the housing upon imparting motion to the housing to generate a dynamic or oscillating magnetic field. Again, the housing can include the mounting means previously mentioned.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method of generating a dynamic magnetic field, comprising the steps of providing the previously magnetic disc and housing and rotatably mounting the disc to the housing, and moving the housing to thereby impart rotary movement to the magnetic disc to impart a dynamic or oscillating magnetic field. In this respect, the method can further include attaching the housing to a part of a person or animal so that the magnetic disc rotates to impart a dynamic or oscillating magnetic field when the person or animal moves.